THE DOGFISH 291 



By its general anatomy, this fish appears to stand midway 

 between the true lung-fishes and the gar pikes. It is of sci- 

 entific interest only, for, save to the negroes of the South, 

 its flesh is quite unpalatable and valueless as food. It is an 

 inhabitant of sluggish fresh waters, attains a length of 2 

 feet, and 12 pounds weight. It is found in the Great Lakes, 

 the Mississippi Valley generally, and in a few fresh-water 

 streams on the southern Atlantic coast. 



THE DOGFISH. 



The individuality of the Dogfish is very positive and 

 interesting. Among the small fry of other fishes its voracious 

 appetite renders it very destructive to species of more value 

 than itself. Mr. Charles Hallock, who knows it well, has 

 thus set forth the salient points of its moral character: 



"They take frogs, minnows and sometimes the spoon. 

 Their habitat is deep water, where they drive everything 

 before them. They are very voracious and savage. Their 

 teeth are so sharp and their jaws so strong they have been 

 known to bite a two-pound fish clean in two the very first 

 snap. They are as tenacious of life as an eel. The young, 

 when about six inches long, make a famous bait for pickerel 



